Infant Respiratory Illness and Indoor Air Pollution from a Woodburning Stove

Abstract

With the increasing cost of fossil fuel, woodburning stoves have become popular as a primary source of residential heating. In New England alone, the number of homes with woodburning stoves doubled in the 5-year period 1976 to 1981; it is estimated that two thirds of all New England homes use wood for some energy.1 Cooper2 reported that 51% of the respirable (< 2.5µm) air-pollutant particulates (35 µg/m3) in a Portland, Oregon residential area were from residential wood combustion sources. A family furnace burning 0.5 x 106 BTU of natural gas per day replaced by a woodburning stove of 50% efficiency would emit between 10 to 1,000 times more carbon monoxide, benzopyrene, and respirable particulates than other residential fuels.